New reporting obligations for digital platform operators
Data processed from an online letting portal; new reporting obligations for digital platform operators
The Hamburg Tax Investigation Unit has once again received and processed data from a booking and accommodation-matching platform for tax audit purposes. It is understood that the data comes from the rental platform Airbnb.
Background: Back in 2020, the Hamburg tax authorities had already secured a ruling from the highest court, following an international group request, ordering the booking platform to hand over data. The analysis of the data provided by the booking platform at that time – which included rental income from approximately 8,000 hosts in Germany totalling around 137 million US dollars, has resulted in additional tax liabilities of approximately €4 million nationwide in the calendar years 2021 and 2022. This prompted the Hamburg Tax Investigation Department to submit a further international group request for more up-to-date data from the booking platform on German landlords who have let accommodation via this online platform.
In this regard, the Hamburg Tax Authority further states:
- The Hamburg Tax Authority has, as in the past, forwarded to the tax authorities of the remaining 15 federal states, so that they can launch an investigation and cross-check the declared income against the available data.
- According to the Hamburg Tax Authority, data is available on rental income from approximately 56,000 hosts, with a total turnover of more than €1 billion.
Notes: No income tax is payable on the occasional subletting of owner-occupied residential property if the rental income amounts to less than €520 per tax assessment period. In this case, the tax authorities waive taxation of the income for the sake of simplicity.
For periods from 1 January 2023 onwards, online platform operators such as eBay, Airbnb and MyHammer will in any case be required to report sales data to the tax authorities, which their users generate there, regardless of whether the users are acting in a private or commercial capacity.
The reporting obligation for platform operators covers, in the case of natural persons, the following data, amongst others:
- First name, surname and address,
- the tax identification number and the VAT number (if applicable),
- the date of birth,
- any fees, commissions or taxes withheld or charged by the platform operator during each quarter of the reporting period,
- the total remuneration paid or credited in each quarter of the reporting period, and
- the number of relevant activities for which remuneration was paid or credited in each quarter of the reporting period.
The reporting requirement applies, amongst other things,.
- in the case of the sale of goods, if at least 30 sales are made within a year or turnover exceeds €2,000.
- in the case of property lettings, provided that no more than 2,000 property listings have been published on the same platform during the calendar year.
- when providing personal services, from the first advertisement onwards.
Notes: Platform operators must submit their first report for the 2023 reporting period by 31 January 2024.
Whether users of the respective platforms are subject to tax obligations depends on the individual case. It should be noted that, in addition to income tax, VAT and business rates may also be payable.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Specialist solicitors and tax advisers I’d be happy to help.